Replacing XP with Linux

Any ideas on replacing XP SP3 with Linux?
The system has Intel P4 2.80Ghz (x2),800Mhz Bus,no VT-X,4G Ram.
If possible the Linux OS would allow me to use or convert to use the xp saved pics and video files.
Thank You in Advance.

The video files, depending upon their format, may need a codec to run in Linux.
(just as in many instances you'll need a codec to run in Windows)
But that shouldn't be any kind of issue as you can get many types of codecs for Linux.

DRIVE IMAGINGInvest a little time and energy in a well thought out BACKUP regimen and you will have minimal down time, and headache.

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Thank You, That's good news.
I was also wondering,and not specific enough,about which Linux is easiest and versatile for xp refugees,(maybe mint?).
After i move over, i've got some friends to help out.

I'm pretty sure VLC Media player has a Linux version and that plays most video formats. Irfanview running in WINE (emulation) for photos maybe? GIMP for photo editing if you have to time to figure it out. Don't know what might be the best distro.

I was also wondering,and not specific enough,about which Linux is easiest and versatile for xp refugees,(maybe mint?).
After i move over, i've got some friends to help out.

I've used Ubuntu 14.04 and LinuxMint 16 Cinnamin on an Intel Core 2 Duo with nVidia Geforce and 4GB of RAM (not necessary to have that much) and I have to say that LinuxMint is probably your best bet. It is very similar to XP and I can actually run Quicken 2013 Deluxe through Crossover with no problems. Ubuntu running same would crash. Don't understand that since LinuxMint is based on Ubuntu, however it is true. Good luck, and welcome to Open Source!

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I would also recommend Mint Cinnamon over distros like Ubuntu for newcomers to Linux.

"The main reason is that Cinnamon, which is the Mint interface I chose to review rather than its close GNOME 2.x-based relative MATE, is designed for power-users who already know how to use a WIMP-style desktop. A Windows XP or 7 user who's never touched Linux in their life will find Mint Cinnamon far more user-friendly than Metro".

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Thanks for the great help and links!
Mint Cinnamon is on the way,Rick,bought a hard copy yesterday.
Thanks for the Zorin idea,JB...I've been reading Tech Republic/ZD Net for ten years,like Windows Secrets,and never noticed any Linux articles geared for home users before.
I'll add it a bit later with Kali.

I use Linux Mint 16 Mate 32 bit on an old Toshiba Satellite A100 Pro and it is OK.

BUT, first of all think carefully about what you are accustomed to doing using a Windows OS and make sure that you will be able to do the same in Linux. A simple question is this : "Will my printer work ?"

So, look before you leap. If your answers all come out as "Yes" you will find Linux Mint is good.

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I recently installed an Ubuntu based distribution called LXLE alongside Windows XP on my old desktop. Installation worked like a charm and now I can boot to either one. In addition, my wireless printer installed with a couple of clicks after I figured out how to do it. I was amazed at how easy it was. However, doing something as simple as creating a desktop shortcut took a week of emails to the help desk where the main respondent was ultimately helpful but didn't immediately know how to do it. I still haven't figured out how to get Windows Shared Folders with WiFi working from LXLE although it works fine with XP. The problem is that LXLE needs SAMBA or some other additional program to use Shared Folders over WiFi, but I haven't found anybody who can explain it to a Windows user, and this seems to be common in the Linux world. Namely, there are many LINUX distributions and they are all different. Few Linux experts know all of them and even fewer can provide clear explanations to a Windows user who is not familiar with Linux terminology. There are also many Linux websites that offer help to Windows users, but once again, the advice given by these websites only works for specific distributions and I have found it difficult to know whether the advice applies to my situation. So I think Linux probably CAN replace XP; the problem is getting or finding help when something doesn't work.

I set up a Home Theater PC a few years ago with Ubuntu. Setting up my video card at full resolution and adding Samba and MythTV were both a little difficult but I found google searches on each specific problem usually led directly to an easy solution. I did have to learn a few terminal commands, I could not correct my problems through the graphical interface but using the "command window" was not too difficult. I never had to ask a question and nobody specifically helped me, it was all done through google searches to existing answers.

I don't have any experience with other Linux distributions but Ubuntu does have a massive user base that may have helped my searches for problem resolutions.

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PCLinuxOS seems to work quite well with older hardware, if that's an issue. Setting up a dual boot is usually automatic within the installation process. I use Dropbox and Google/Picasa to save files and pictures; both are available to any computer or OS I'm using. An external USB drive would also work, although Samba is easy to set up.

I'm pretty sure VLC Media player has a Linux version and that plays most video formats. Irfanview running in WINE (emulation) for photos maybe? GIMP for photo editing if you have to time to figure it out. Don't know what might be the best distro.

My Ubuntu 13.10 64-bits installation has a decent Viewer which handles a lot of image formats. For the rest, ImageMagic and several more specialized apps are available from the Ubuntu Software Centre or Private Repositories (PPAs). I also use Pinta, which has features and a look and feel very much like Paint.NET for Windows, but without all the .NET mess (updates issues).

To the OP:
A much more vexing issue is how to make Windows email clients (if you use one) give up their treasures to a Linux email client.
Like UNIX, most Linux email programs have the ability to import and export using the .mbx format. For Thunderbird users, this is nirvana, as this is also pretty much what the Thunderbird format is, once you strip off the extension from the mailbox folders. But for Outlook and other Windows email clients, the problems are very difficult, and made worse by the complete lack of standards for Address Books and other personal data. So this is where some careful planning and clever Web searching will come in handy.
I like the interface of the KDE KMail program, but Ubuntu's Unity Interface is based on the GNOME interface and uses X-Windows, soon to be replaced with Mir. These two different desktop environments have incompatibilities, so I had to look for a more compatible program. Claws Mail has both a suitable Linux version, as well as a Windows version. But those two versions don't interoperate well.
So, I ended up having my old Pegasus Windows client export its folders as UNIX .mbx folders. Thunderbird doesn't know it (in its Import/Export Tools) but this is the same format as Thunderbird's native format. Once that was cleared up, I transferred the messages from the UNIX mailboxes to genuine Thunderbird mailboxes, and exported these as .mbx mailboxes for use in my Linux Claws Mail. A lot of work, but nearly everything came over intact. It's a one-off, so I didn't mind doing all that work just this once.
There is software which claims to allow similar transfers of messages and addresses/contacts from one Windows client to another, but very little seems to be available to transfer Windows email and contacts to Linux clients.

Both of these stories would apply in a similar way to Mint/Cinnamon or other Debian Linux distros.

I would further advise that before converting a XP machine to Linux, you run the Live DVD for your chosen Linux distro on that computer and make sure everything in the hardware has Linux drivers. Video and Wireless Internet are notorious for having showstopper issues in some laptops. Mine (a Toshiba Satellite with hybrid Intel-NVidia graphics) only barely made the cut. Again, a lot of work to set up compared with Windows, and a steep learning curve even if after initial setup you manage to avoid heavey use of the Linux Command Line. But routine maintenance is so much quicker (once you learn to use CloneZilla Live Raring) and the OS is so much more stable than Windows XP, that whatever distro you choose, Linux will reward your efforts with easier everyday usage.

Did I mention that defragging and cleanup are not needed in Linux? Most of us also don't use antivirus, although Ubuntu and Mint do have a firewall which you can turn on for added safety. Also, DO apply all updates as they are available. A recent GNU-TLS online security bug is very serious, and only some distros have effective patches.

Anyway, this is how it's been working out for me, nearly eight months after my first encounter with Ubuntu Linux. Mint is just a smaller cousin of Ubuntu.